Combination rocking chair and ladder



Dec 23, 1952 L. c. MORGAN COMBINATION ROCKING CHAIR AND LADDER Filed Nov. 14, 1949 Zmnentor Zea a ra Cf7707ym/ Patented Dec. 23, 1952 COMBINATION AND L ROCKING CHAIR ADD Leonard C; Morgan, Detroit, Mich. Application November 14, 1949, Serial No. 127,109

1 Claim.

This invention relates to furniture and, in particular, to combination furniture.

One object of this invention is to provide an article of furniture which, when arranged in different positions or used on different sides will serve a number of different purposes, such as a ladder, a rocking chair, a table, a bookcase or a desk.

Another object is to provide a combination furniture .article which, when placed in anupright position, serves as a ladder or a .pair of stairs, or as a bookcase; when placed in an inverted position, serves as a rocking-chair.

Another object is to provide a combination furniture article of the foregoing character which, when laid on one of its ends, serves as a corner table.

Another object is to provide a combination furniture article of the foregoing character which, when approached from the front serves as a pair of stairs or a bookcase, and when approached from the rear, serves as a desk or drawing table.

Another object is to provide a combination furniture article of the foregoing character which is especially adapted for use by children and which is safe and practical for their use.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a combination furniture article, according to one form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the combination furniture article shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the combination furniture article shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the combination furniture article of Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, in position for use as a ladder, bookcase or writing or drawing desk;

Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the combination furniture article of Figures 1 to 4 inclusive in its inverted position for use as a rocking chair; and

Figure 6 is a front perspective view of the combination furniture article placed on one of its ends for use as a corner table.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 to 6 inclusive show a combination furniture article, generally designated [0, capable of use for different purposes in different positions or, when approached from different directions, as explained below. The furniture article ID is made from wood, metal or other suitable material and is provided with a pair of side members ll of quadrant shape having mutually perpendicular edges l2 and 13 connected to one another by rounded corners l4 and connected to an arcuate edge l5 by rounded corners i5 and I1 respectively. The arcuate edge I5 is preferably the are of a circle of such a radius as to permit the edges l5 to function as the rockers of a rocking chair.

The side members H are preferably routed or grooved to receive the ends of cross members 18 to 25 inclusive, these ends being secured therein by a suitable adhesive. This renders the furniture article easy and inexpensive to manufacture, but it will be understood that fasteners may optionally be used to secure the various members together.

In the upright position of the furniture article (Figures 2 and 4), the cross members l9, 2! and 23 serve as treads of a stairway, generally designated 26, of which the cross members I 8, 20 and 22 serve as risers. As seen from Figure 1, the free edges 21 and 2-8 are terminated short of the edges l2 and I3 or, in other words, are spaced inwardly therefrom so that the furniture article l0 will be perfectly stable when a child or other person is standing on either the member 23 or the member l8, depending upon which edge l2 or [3 is upright. In other words, the edge 21 or 28 must not extend over a point directly above the junction of the curved corner I4 with the respective edge 12 or 13 in order to provide stability in this manner. The stairway 2 6 formed by the members 18 to 23 inclusive may alternatively be used as a bookshelf with the books supported on the treads i9 and 2| against the backs or risers 20 and 22. It will also be obvious that a third row of books may be placed on the topmost tread 23, but these books will lack a back member corresponding to the risers 20 and 22. Obviously,

also, the stairway 26 may be formed with either 4 of the pairs of edges [2 or l3 resting upon the floor or ground, in which case the cross members which were previously treads become risers, and vice versa. I

The cross members 24 and 25 are arranged at an obtuse angle relatively to one another, with the cross member 25 substantially parallel to the chord of the arcuate edges I5. With this arrangement, the cross member 25 becomes a horizontal seat and the cross member 24 the back for that seat when the furniture article is inverted (Figure 5), so that the arcuate edges I 5 rest upon the floor or ground. In this position, furthermore, the cross member l8 becomes a foot rest for a person, such as a child, sitting on the seat 25. When the furniture article is arranged in this position, a person occupying it can rock to and fro, using the arcuate edges l5 as rockers.

When the furniture article is in its upright position (Figures 1 to 4 inclusive) and approached from the rear (Figure 3), the child or other person may sit on a low chair, cushion or stool facing the shelf-like member 24 with his legs extending beneath the stairway 26. In this position, the cross member 24, being inclined, serves as the top of a drawing table or desk.

Finally, when the furniture article IEI is laid on one of its sides or ends I I (Figure 6), it serves as a corner table with the other side or end II serving as a table top. The furniture article can then be pushed into a corner and thus caused to extend across the corner, with its edges I2 and I3 against the mutually perpendicular walls of the room. In this position, the cross members I8 to 25 serve as a pedestal structure for supporting the uppermost side or end I I which serves as the table top. r

The use of the furniture article II] has been described in connection with its construction. It will be seen that the present invention provides a very flexible furniture article which is especially well adapted for use by children in schools, playrooms and other places frequented by children. Practical experience in the use of this furniture article has proved it to be eagerly sought after and enthusiastically used by children because of its versatility and adaptability to different uses. The

combination furniture article may also be constructed in miniature form and used in doll houses or playhouses.

What I claim is:

A combination furniture article comprising a pair of laterally spaced plate-like side members of approximately quadrant shaped outline havin side edges arranged substantially at right angles to one another and arcuate hypotenuse edges interconnecting the ends of said side edges, a stairway comprising a multiplicity of elongated mutually perpendicular tread and riser members secured at their opposite ends to said side members in an alternately vertical and. horizontal stepped formation, said tread andriser members being substantially perpendicular to one of said side edges and substantially parallel to the other side edge, an elongated plate-like seat member secured at its opposite ends to said side members and arranged on the rearward side of said stairway obliquely to said tread and riser members, and an elongated plate-like back member secured at its opposite ends to said side members and arranged on the rearward side of said stairway at an obtuse angle to said seat member, the ends of said tread and riser members at the ends of said stairway terminating short of the adjacent side edges of said side members.

LEONARD C. MORGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,353,066 Pascoe Sept. 14, 1920 2,269,834 Wagner Jan. 13, 1942 2,440,979 Schneider May 4, 1948 

